Advisory: Military Teens With Disabilities Try N.H. Winter Sports Jan. 20 - 23

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

UNH news release featured image

Photo of inundated road by Roger Stephenson courtesy of Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership's "2011 King Tide Photo Contest."

DURHAM, N.H. - Northeast Passage at the University of New Hampshire, in partnership with UNH Cooperative Extension's 4-H Youth Development Program, will host a dozen teens with disabilities from military families in the second of two White Mountain winter sports camps Jan 20 - 23, 2012.

WHAT:          Military Teen Adventure Camps for teens with disabilities

WHEN:          January 20 - 23, 2012

WHERE:         Appalachian Mountain Club's Highland Center at Crawford Notch and facilities throughout the White Mountains, including Bretton Woods and Muddy Paws Sled Dog Kennel.

WHO:            Teens (14 - 18 years old) from around the country who have a parent serving in the military and who have developmental and cognitive disabilities, along with their caregivers. Twelve teens will attend; they will be assisted by eight UNH students and Northeast Passage staff.

WHY:            "Throughout our 22-year history, Northeast Passage has introduced teens with disabilities and, more recently, veterans and military personnel with disabilities, to winter sports in New Hampshire. We've watched our participants grow, change, and connect with others as they experience something they may never have thought possible," says Jill Gravink, founder and executive director of Northeast Passage.

MORE:          These overnight camps, the nation's first-ever winter sports camps for military teens with disabilities, give military youth the chance to work together, socialize, play and experience new winter activities, including Nordic and alpine skiing, dog sledding, ice skating, and tubing. The camps are free and registration includes food, lodging, lift tickets, lessons, and equipment rentals. For more information: http://nepassage.org/events/150/military-teen-winter-adventure-camp/.

Northeast Passage, founded in 1990, is a nationally renowned UNH program that develops and delivers barrier-free recreation programs for people with disabilities. Learn more: www.nepassage.org.

Funding for the camps comes from a partnership between the Department of Defense, Office of Military Community and Family Policy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture/National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.

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Editor's Notes: 

Editors and reporters: The Military Teen Adventure Camps are full, but we welcome reporters, photographers and film crews at either camp.